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Posted: August 19, 2008

New $100k endowment at UAlbany NanoCollege

(Nanowerk News) The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ("CNSE") of the University at Albany today announced that a California resident will honor the memory of her late daughter through a donation that will fund the creation of a new endowment at CNSE.

The $100,000 donation by Dr. Helene Fulton Belz will fund the Katherine Belz Groves Memorial Graduate Fellowship in Nanoscale Science, which will support a graduate student engaged in innovative education and research at the UAlbany NanoCollege. The fellowship, to commence this fall and be awarded on a competitive basis, will fund a student for the period needed to complete the requirements for a doctoral degree, which is typically five years.

Katherine Belz Groves pursued a lifelong interest in studying the group dynamics of education. She established a successful consulting business while also dedicating significant time and effort to helping the disadvantaged through her leadership in a variety of programs, including Chicago's "Share Twenty," in which she tutored inner-city schoolchildren. She moved to New York's Hudson Valley in 1983, where she lived with her husband, CNSE Empire Innovation Professor of Nanoscale Science Dr. Timothy Groves, until her death in 1998.

"It is a joy to remember my daughter in a way that supports my enduring goal of creating a level playing field for the education of all students, regardless of their background," said Dr. Belz. "In making this donation, I also think of my father, who became Director of the Mackay School of Mines in Reno, NV and was entrusted with large grants as the metallurgy field expanded in the 1920s, just as nanotechnology is revolutionizing the worlds of science and engineering today. Education is the key to developing the full potential of nanotechnology, and I am pleased to support a graduate student in this exciting and important field."

"We are grateful to Dr. Belz for her generous donation to establish a new endowment at UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering," said University at Albany Interim President George M. Philip. "By honoring the memory of her daughter in this way, Dr. Belz is demonstrating her belief in the importance of providing exceptional higher education, while also creating a lasting legacy of support for students exploring scientific fields that have the power to positively impact our society."

"I am truly honored and humbled that Dr. Belz has chosen to pay tribute to her daughter by establishing a graduate fellowship at the UAlbany NanoCollege," said Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer at CNSE. "This gift will provide critical support for the pioneering educational curriculum and unmatched research programs available at CNSE, while also ensuring that the best and brightest students have access to cutting-edge scientific know-how that is vital to their careers and to further growth at CNSE, the University and throughout New York State."

"We are most appreciative to Dr. Belz for this generous donation, which truly reflects both her lifelong love of education and her commitment to providing exciting opportunities for all students," said Fardin Sanai, Vice President for University Development. "This gift represents an investment in the world-class educational and research programs at UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and assists in ensuring that our students will be exceptionally well-prepared for the scientific careers of the 21st century."

Dr. Helene Fulton Belz received a Ph.D. in education at Stanford University, where her research focused on testing metrics for the blind. She spent 30 years with the East Side Union High School District in San Jose, CA, where she directed numerous programs and conducted research on the influence of family and cultural factors in students' approach to their studies. She later became one of the nation's first researchers to argue that the results of IQ testing for schoolchildren are fundamentally influenced by family and cultural background.

About CNSE

The UAlbany CNSE is the first college in the world dedicated to research, development, education, and deployment in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanobioscience, and nanoeconomics. In May 2007, it was ranked as the world's number one college for nanotechnology and microtechnology in the Annual College Ranking by Small Times magazine. CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex is the most advanced research enterprise of its kind at any university in the world: a $4.2 billion, 450,000-square-foot complex that attracts corporate partners from around the world and offers students a one-of-a-kind academic experience. The UAlbany NanoCollege houses the only fully-integrated, 300mm wafer, computer chip pilot prototyping and demonstration line within 65,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanrooms. More than 2,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, and faculty work on site at CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex, from companies including IBM, AMD, SEMATECH, Toshiba, ASML, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Vistec Lithography and Freescale. An expansion currently underway will increase the size of CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex to over 800,000 square feet, including over 80,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanroom space, to house over 2,500 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, and faculty by mid-2009. For more information, visit http://www.cnse.albany.edu/.